Bowen Yang Reacts to Heidi Gardner’s ‘SNL’ Exit Amid Mass Cast Shakeup: ‘You Are One of the Greats’

Bowen Yang is opening up about losing his close friend Heidi Gardner in the latest round of firings and exits from Saturday Night Live.

Yang, 34, addressed the shakeup on Tuesday’s episode of his podcast Las Culturistas, which he co-hosts with Matt Rogers. The Wicked actor, who joined SNL as a writer in 2018 before being promoted to the cast in 2019, praised Gardner’s legacy on the show.

“You are one of the greats. You will go down in history,” Yang said of Gardner, who joined SNL in 2017. He called her one of the few cast members capable of writing sketches entirely on her own.

“It’s always a very, very vulnerable thing as a cast member to put only your name on it. But anytime you saw just ‘Gardner,’ you knew you were in good hands. She would take it upon herself to write pieces for other cast.”

Yang recalled a sketch Gardner had written for former cast member Punkie Johnson, who left the series in 2024.

“It was one of the most beautiful, kindest gestures I’ve ever seen at that show, and her heart was so big, and clearly so fing funny,” he said. “A true anchor on that show.”

Although his comments primarily focused on Gardner, Yang also addressed the others who were let go. “I will miss the people who are not coming back very, very much,” he admitted, while adding that he was “thrilled to go back” to the show himself.

Gardner, 42, was the longest-tenured cast member to exit ahead of season 51. Newer stars Devon Walker, Michael Longfello, and Emil Wakim were also cut, and Please Don’t Destroy member John Higgins announced his departure.

Returning for the new season are Kenan Thompson, Michael Che, Colin Jost, Marcello Hernández, Ego Nwodim, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, James Austin Johnson, Sarah Sherman, and Yang, according to Deadline. Featured players Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline are also expected back.

Joining the cast are Ben Marshall, one of the founding members of the Please Don’t Destroy troupe, along with Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska.

Season 51 of SNL premieres on Saturday, October 4.